The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1887-08-13
soLD1EKs Nor ALL GONE YET

- q
/ The Penalty of Tronson is Dsa,h, but tho
.544t Reward or Patriotism ~ Long Life.
1t is a common, lachrymove, dolorcus,
complaint, 30 often repeated, especially on
Decoration Days, that We half believe 1t,
false 90 1t ia, that tho Grand Army OF the
Republic is rapidly paasinsaway aud soon
will be all gone. hear the remark often
made, and sometimes suspect tho wish Is
father to tho thought. There are thou.
sands Of men who wish 1t were true that
We wero nearly all dead and out Of their
way. This may uound harsh, but it is
true.
4 l always suapects q mans loyalty when
he lannon's too much about "the old Bol-
diers dying of 30 fast !" Watch this close.
vat political conventions, there you will
$50 it. Sometime ago I heard Il repeated
over and over at political convention, to
cxcues the delegated from nominating sol
diers. 20, @ new generation has come
upon the Rtage. Tho old eoldiers arc
passing away. Tho country did very gell
4 by them, but now 1t must look out for tho
younger men," That Btyle OF remark I
have heard thousand tsmes, and lurking
OF tho bottom Of 1t !s hell!sh, cowardly,
reasonable envy, jealousy and hatred,
( and the whole thing 10 q lie. 3s'{tl.
Lot mo be specific. Tho laet Revolu-
tionnry soldiot died in 1868, right hero.
{ eighty.ilye ycara after the war Tho last
b Union soldier: will die in 1850. 30 tho
/. gentry who arc 30 much concerned sbout
us old fellows mnat wait until their grand.
gn1,t SxaT. nfT II 40, k1,f
they viii have the pleasure of decorating
1 the last Of US. We are u tough old set.
Z Sorry to keep you waiting 30 long can't
4 helpit! Lear II US well aa you can, O,
soldier ha,er You will end "the woodB
i are still iull Of noldiero" going to tho By
I Wheeling Reunion. Why, we will hold
SOLDIER renni0ra until 1860.
tS They will "streich on to tho crack Of
4 doom" e II a h, n "a
a AS they grow smaller in numbers in tho
4 next century---and they will not mnte.
rally decrease till 19O0-the interest in
them will increase, more and more, a
thousand fold annually, to tho last. fs'g55
{$|&s., God has turned back the dial OF on.
! lives lovingly. Since the war wo have not
: died of half ss iaat as the newspspera
4 represent. For example, In the Id wears
/ have lived il Caldwell We have buried
juBt five aoldiora In this region Of country,
4 out Of q total OF three hundred within tbs
limits OF our Post. q ~ 25'l
Il That 10 o Dtraw. j.{ "a Z
II 10 suggestive. Not two per ceus. loss
in our number since the war /. though I
admit myself the loss Ia in tho last year.
OF course, the percentage Of dcatha will be
much larger In tho next nineteen years,
and increase in geomess!cal ratio toward
the last. Our average! ages are about 45.
That Is about tho average age Of the Grand
Army men who still live, md most oil
them have another 45 loft yet. 4 Amy com.
RADIO can test 1t for himself, as I hsvo done
In. the following manner: 10 further illus.
.trate this matter. to-day 1made ont a list
of i've hundred personal army friends, Of
whom l have kept track since the war,
and OF theSe | eau name but fifteen dead
Three per cent. less by death Binco the
war, And soTuponjthe whole, l conclude
that Of the LOOK, 500 men discharged at the